Some of my Friends were Whitecoats

Wanted to let you know about this program coming up on PBS, Febr. 5. Many of the boys I went to school with went to Washington D.C. where they were involved in the “Whitecoat” project. They chose this option as a “conscientious objector” in the days when the draft required all men 18 or over to serve in the army or volunteer for another branch of the military service.

Some of the boys I knew, also went into the service as “medics” and were in the heat of the battle in Viet Nam, where they worked as ambulance personnel, medical staff, or in MASH type units. Being a conscientious objector meant that you believed in serving your country, but not in bearing arms.

I also had friends who avoided the draft by going to Canada to live or enrolled in college. Some of my high school friends are named on the “The Wall”. I am very thankful that we now have an all volunteer military allowing those not suited for military type service to choose another way of serving their country.

-- Editor

PBS WILL AIR A FILM INCLUDING INFORMATION ABOUT THE WHITECOATS, entitled "The Living Weapon" on the history of biological weapons on February 5. Dr. Frank S. Damazo, Whitecoat Foundation board member received this information this week and was told by the producer that "the Whitecoats will be featured prominently" in the film. Operation Whitecoat members were predominately Seventh-day Adventist draftees who risked their lifelong health to participate in studies about some of the world's most dangerous biological agents to find defensive vaccines and antibacterial medicines.

Contact: www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/weapon to see what time the film will be aired in your area.

--(In the Lincoln, NE area, it will air on NET1 at 8:00 p.m.)